Are Uber vehicles safer than yellow cabs?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure one is safer than the other, but I hate how Uber drivers always want to talk to me. One actually gave me fewer stars because I didn't want to talk while I was reviewing my notes while on the way to a 7 am breakfast meeting! Since when are passengers expected to be entertainment for the driver? I'm not your friend, just get me to my destination in one piece (and in peace)! I prefer surly cab drivers who speak minimal English.

[Anonymous]

As someone who was in an accident in a Yellow Cab, I'll stick with Uber/Lyft, thanks.

I've posted about the accident before in various cab vs. Uber/Lyft threads, but as I was being carted away in the ambulance, the cab driver got a cop on the scene to make me pay my fare for the ride up until that point. The cab driver also initially refused to allow me to call for help and went as far as snatching my phone out of my hands. It was only because he couldn't simultaneously deal with me and fight with the other driver that I was able to get my phone back and call.

The cars used for Uber/Lyft have to go through normal state inspection procedures, so I feel safe in them. Actually, I feel safer because the drivers I've had tend to be more cautious since they are driving their own personal vehicles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The DC taxicab commission is a licensing and regulatory body that has government oversight. Uber is a fly-by-night corporation that makes its money from undercutting legitimate cabs. You do the math.

what a joke.

I'm guessing you're also pro-regulation as it relates to the government controlling how much you pay for things such as air travel. You don't like healthy competition where the markets work to weed out crappy companies and products.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is thank goodness for Lyft.

I use Lyft instead of Uber because in general, it pays the drivers better, and the cost of using it seems to be roughly the same. I like that I know who will be picking me up, with what car (usually fairly new) and what their license plate number is. I like that I can see the cost of the fare before I request the Lyft. I have used Uber as well with similar success.

I like that I can store a credit card, tip through the app, and get someone within a few minutes, on demand.

A cab offers literally none of that. I don't know who my driver will be. I expect the vehicle to be older/dirtier. I expect that I'll have to pay cash (hate paying with cash). I don't know how much the fare will be, or if the driver is taking a longer/farther route that only benefits him/her.

Thank goodness for Uber/Lyft. I do feel bad for the folks who went through the hoops to become taxi drivers, but ultimately I don't think it's anybody's place to protect any industry from disruption. We don't have blacksmiths anymore because factories can forge metal much more reliably and for a much cheaper per unit cost, but we don't lament the lack of blacksmiths anywhere. I feel the same way about taxis (in their current state).

[Anonymous]

My worst experiences by far have been in taxis. I have never felt like my life was physically at risk in an Uber/Lyft, but it's happened a couple of times in a taxi.

[Anonymous]

I feel somewhat safer in Ubers because I think the drivers are a bit better. That's because riders can rate them. I'm generally terrified by the way cabbies drive, crazy breakneck speed, tailgating, slamming on the brakes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DC taxicab commission is a licensing and regulatory body that has government oversight. Uber is a fly-by-night corporation that makes its money from undercutting legitimate cabs. You do the math.

DC cabs are a scam. All the decades they refused to get out of the zone system and then fighting the credit cards. They refuse to keep up with the times.

Agreed. HUGE scam. They also are scamming their taxi drivers too. I never think Uber is scamming it's drivers or forcing them to pay a rental for the car that costs half a day's wages.

LOL

The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford released a paper last week suggesting that Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. made $3.37 an hour. Dragging down their wages in the estimate was work-related expenses like wear-and-tear on the vehicle and fuel. Some 30 percent actually lost money driving for the "gig economy" companies, while 74 percent of drivers made less than the minimum wage in their state.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-09/uber-driver-wages-are-too-low-to-sustain-the-cab-industry

[Anonymous]

The problem with Uber is the drivers are not safe. Many are working Uber as a third job and lack sleep. Study show lack of sleep is the same or worst vs DWI. They tend to pay more attention to the screen vs driving. I have seen 5 almost accidents this week all Uber drivers.

[Anonymous]

We are in California - and in our specific are Lyft is the dominant player. DH has used both Uber and Lyft extensively, and hands-down prefers Lyft for their ease of scheduling your ride ahead of time, and the drive experience in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DC taxicab commission is a licensing and regulatory body that has government oversight. Uber is a fly-by-night corporation that makes its money from undercutting legitimate cabs. You do the math.

DC cabs are a scam. All the decades they refused to get out of the zone system and then fighting the credit cards. They refuse to keep up with the times.

Agreed. HUGE scam. They also are scamming their taxi drivers too. I never think Uber is scamming it's drivers or forcing them to pay a rental for the car that costs half a day's wages.

LOL

The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford released a paper last week suggesting that Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. made $3.37 an hour. Dragging down their wages in the estimate was work-related expenses like wear-and-tear on the vehicle and fuel. Some 30 percent actually lost money driving for the "gig economy" companies, while 74 percent of drivers made less than the minimum wage in their state.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-09/uber-driver-wages-are-too-low-to-sustain-the-cab-industry

....and let's not forget the outrageous cost of a medallion if you drive a taxi! Well now that kind of puts a little water on that fire now doesn't it^^^^^

[Anonymous]

Safer? No. Taxis cab commissions basically documented everything about a driver's life especially if they were given a vaunted 'liscense'. So by nature they knew exactly who was driving and you had some assurance of working through a 'company'.

However tax drivers are shit on earth and I'll never ever use one now that Uber/Lyft/Via are here.

Taxi drivers:
- Keep filthy cabs
- Try to up charge you
- Pick the longest routes to upcharge you
- Charge more per a mile than Uber does for an entire trip
- Charge extra for trunk usage
- Charge full fares per a person instead of per car
- Took FOREVER to find you and that's after you called a dispatcher - wait time 30-40 minutes for a taxi
- Are rude, disrespectful, and uncouth
- Would refuse credit cards so they could pocket cash (illegal!)
- Demanded tips on exorbitant fares
- Wouldn't pick up riders going to neighborhoods or in directions they didn't want

You name it, a taxi driver did it. Assholes. The fact that I can order an Uber by app and have it at my door in two minutes, zip across town, know my fare ahead of time, and follow the route on my phone. I can't tell you how much I love it. I take 5-6 ubers a week just because of the convenience and price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Uber vehicles I have been in have been newer and cleaner on average than yellow cabs - Uber has rules about it and user feedback incentivizes drivers to keep their cars clean (not so with cabs!).

Uber has a photo of your driver and a description of the vehicle including license plate. I've taken thousands of rides and have never had a car that wasn't the one listed show up (I certainly wouldn't get in it if so). I suppose someone could borrow both someone's uber app and car and impersonate them if they looked similar to the photo. But that can absolutely happen with a yellow cab too (and in my experience does more frequently, since a yellow cab driver who is sick or can't drive still has to pay rent on the car - so they have every incentive to have a friend or relative drive for them).

And in terms of personal safety of course, it's tracked, which makes both driver and passenger safer.

I agree with this. Also uber drivers all use a navigation app whereas taxi drivers do not.
They may know their way around better than uber drivers but without the app they don’t know where the traffic is and how to best avoid it. Especially if there is an accident.

Also with uber I know the price before I get in. With a taxi my fare is subject to wait time as well as the route the driver takes. This can drasticallly increase the cost of a ride.

But back to safety in my experience taxi drivers are almost always on the phone. I don’t think that is very safe. It is distracted driving. Uber drivers in my experience are rarely on the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel somewhat safer in Ubers because I think the drivers are a bit better. That's because riders can rate them. I'm generally terrified by the way cabbies drive, crazy breakneck speed, tailgating, slamming on the brakes, etc.

I used to take cabs all the time before Uber, and nearly all the drivers were great. But there were 1 or 2 that seemed drunk or high after I got into the car and drove really erratically. With Uber, there's a quick and easy way to report that and Uber will come down on them hard if it's true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DC taxicab commission is a licensing and regulatory body that has government oversight. Uber is a fly-by-night corporation that makes its money from undercutting legitimate cabs. You do the math.

DC cabs are a scam. All the decades they refused to get out of the zone system and then fighting the credit cards. They refuse to keep up with the times.

Agreed. HUGE scam. They also are scamming their taxi drivers too. I never think Uber is scamming it's drivers or forcing them to pay a rental for the car that costs half a day's wages.

LOL

The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford released a paper last week suggesting that Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. made $3.37 an hour. Dragging down their wages in the estimate was work-related expenses like wear-and-tear on the vehicle and fuel. Some 30 percent actually lost money driving for the "gig economy" companies, while 74 percent of drivers made less than the minimum wage in their state.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-09/uber-driver-wages-are-too-low-to-sustain-the-cab-industry

I think that study got revoked because of bad data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DC taxicab commission is a licensing and regulatory body that has government oversight. Uber is a fly-by-night corporation that makes its money from undercutting legitimate cabs. You do the math.

DC cabs are a scam. All the decades they refused to get out of the zone system and then fighting the credit cards. They refuse to keep up with the times.

Agreed. HUGE scam. They also are scamming their taxi drivers too. I never think Uber is scamming it's drivers or forcing them to pay a rental for the car that costs half a day's wages.

LOL

The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford released a paper last week suggesting that Uber and Lyft drivers in the U.S. made $3.37 an hour. Dragging down their wages in the estimate was work-related expenses like wear-and-tear on the vehicle and fuel. Some 30 percent actually lost money driving for the "gig economy" companies, while 74 percent of drivers made less than the minimum wage in their state.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-09/uber-driver-wages-are-too-low-to-sustain-the-cab-industry

This is bad news.